AU3936100A - Beverage and food carton - Google Patents

Description

51507 DL:GEH:PFB P/00/011 AUSTRALIA Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

go a e Name of Applicant: D D PACKAGING PTY LTD Actual Inventor: DAVID R HOPPER Address for Service: COLLISON CO.,117 King William Street, Adelaide, S.A. 5000 Invention Title: BEVERAGE AND FOOD CARTON The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: This invention relates to a beverage and food carton.

With the advent of numerous take away food outlets and the provision of take away food stalls at sporting events, fairs, festivals, fetes, agricultural shows, and the like, there is the need for a carton, tray or carrier so that the food and/ or drink can be carried from the point of purchase to be consumed.

At least one such tray or carton is known to carry foods and drink constructed from corflute board having pockets in which drink containers can be placed and also a central area in which food may be placed. However this carton is not simple to erect from the folded storage condition. Also the carton relies primarily on the strength of the corflute material. This material has substantial thickness and thus S:.i when folded flat the reserve supply requires substantial storage area.

Cartons and trays for use such as mentioned above should desirably be transported in the flat condition and be very easily erected and formed into the tray with a minimum of time and with a minimum of actions required. Any flaps or tabs which have to be inserted into slots should be easily inserted and locked in position. Ideally there should be a minimum of actions required to erect the carton.

The tray or carton should preferably be formed of a biodegradable or recyclable material, be lightweight and economical to produce. The cartons are usually formed from a blank of the material, the blank being stamped from a sheet of the material.

Ideally the blank should be stamped with a minimum of wastage between adjacent blanks, and preferably make provision for holding a plurality of drink containers and optionally a food pocket.

It is an object of this invention to provide a carton for carrying food and/or drinks which achieve one or more of the above features.

There is provided according to the invention a collapsible carton which can be erected from a folded flat condition, the carton being formed from a single piece of sheet material, the carton including a top panel having container receiving pockets, side walls, a bottom panel and end walls, and a central strengthening strut, the end walls positioned inwardly of and engaging the side walls and also engaging the central strut whereby rigidity and stability of the carton is obtained.

3 Preferably the centre strut of the carton is attached to the bottom panel and adhered to the undersurface of the top panel.

Preferably the pockets have spaced groups of inwardly protruding fingers, the groups being spaced by cutouts, and the end walls have tabs which engage in selected cutout of adjacent pockets.

Preferably also the pockets and inwardly protruding fingers are such that each pocket can accommodate a large range of cup sizes in a stable condition.

In order to more fully describe the invention reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which;- Igloo S.Figure 1 is a perspective view of the erected carton, portions being broken away to more clearly show the construction, Figure 2 is a similar view with further portions broken away, Figure 3 is a view of a partially assembled carton, Figure 4 is a further view of the assembly of the carton Figure 5 is a view along the lines 5-5 of Figure 1, Figure 6 is a view along the lines 6-6 of Figure 1, Figure 7 is a partial view of the centre portion of the carton, Figure 8 is a view of the centre portion, the carton being converted from a 6 drink carrier to a 4 drink carrier with central portion to carry food, and Figure 9 is a view of the blank from which the carton is formed.

The carton 1 consists of a top panel 2, side walls 3, end wall portions 4 and 5, and bottom panels 6 and 7. The top panel 2 is provided with pairs of circular end pockets 8 and a pair of circular centre pockets 9, each of the pockets is formed with four equally spaced cut outs 10 separated by four pairs of fingers 11 joined to the top panel 12 by perforated lines 12. The top panel 2 is supported at the centre thereof at each end by a central strut 13 which will be described in more detail later.

Referring to the figure showing the plan of the blank from which the carton is formed, it can be seen that the blank is stamped from a sheet of material with a minimum of wastage around the edges thereof.

Each of the side walls 3 are attached to the top panel 2 by fold lines 14 and the bottom panel portions are attached to the side walls by fold lines 15. Locking tabs 16 are provided on the end wall portions 4 and have cut lines 16(a) and 16(b) separating that portion of the end wall portion from the respective bottom panel portions 6 to which it is attached by fold lines 23. Similarly end wall portions have a locking tab 17 and cut line 17(a), the locking tabs 5 being attached to the end wall portions 7 by fold lines 24. Each of the bottom wall portions 7 has cut line 15 to form a centre strut support tab 18 leaving a cut out recess 19, the purpose of which will be later described.

A fixing tab 20 is attached to the bottom panel portions 6 and is defined by cut lines 28(a) to form tabs 28 on the centre strut portions 13 attached to the bottom panel portions 6 by fold lines 20(a). Each of the centre strut portions 13 has a fixing strip 21 attached thereto by fold lines 21(a), each fixing strip having arcuate cutouts 22 having a radius equal to the pockets 8.

The blank is stamped from a sheet of material and the manufacturer by two simple gluing operations forms the carton in a flat folded condition for transport and storage ready to be erected at the point of use.

Viewing the blank as shown in Figure 9, the right hand end containing the bottom portion 6 is folded about its fold line 15 to lie flat on the surface of the blank. In this position the cutouts 22 are positioned adjacent the respective pockets 8, these being furthest from the fold line 15. The two fixing strips 21 are adhered to the blank in this position by the application of an adhesive prior to or during the folding operation.

The left hand end of the blank containing the bottom portion 7 and side wall 3 is then folded about its respective fold line 14 so that the bottom portion 7 partially overlies the bottom portion 6 and is adhered to the bottom portion 6 in this position. The end walls 4 and 5 in this condition extend outwardly from each end of the folded blank. The folding and gluing can be easily performed by a folding and gluing machine.

The carton in this folded condition is stored and transported to the point of use whereit can be easily erected into the carton for use: To erect the carton it is a simple matter of lifting the top panel by inserting fingers into the centre pockets 9 whereby the side walls and the centre strut portions 13 pivot in parallel motion fashion to the vertical position with the top panel spaced from the bottom panel. The two end portions are then lifted into position with the locking tabs 16 and 17 passing into and locking in the respective cutouts 10 in the respective pockets 8, the cutouts 19 in the end portions 5 passing over the ends of the centre strut 13.

15 It is noted that with reference to the centre pockets 9 that there is provided a side flange 25 extending from the top edge of the side wall toward the centre pockets 9, this flange thus providing increased rigidity to the central portion of the carton.

o..

The bottom panel portion 7 has curved portions 30 which correspond to the curved portions 22 on the fixing strip 22 so that a series of blanks can be stamped end to end with no wastage there between.

However while the above description is directed to a carton with 6 pockets suitable for holding drink containers, the carton can be modified to also have a compartment for food. The portion of the top panel joining the two central pockets 9 has a central aperture 25 and perforation lines 26 extending from the aperture to the respective pockets 9. Thus by fracturing the perforation line 26 the portions 27 can be folded along lines 28 down into the carton as shown in Figures 7 and 8, the portion of the aperture 25 engaging over the protruding portion of the centre strut. There is thus produced a compartment for the carrying of food or other items.

Also if a smaller carton is required, the carton can be divided into two cartons each having two pockets, by separating the carton along transverse perforation line 29.

The carton which is very strong achieves its strength mechanically as above described which permits the carton to be manufactured from thin card. Thus the carton when folded will result in significant saving in storage space when compared with cartons manufactured from thicker material such as corflute material.

6 Thus it can be seen that there is provided by the invention carton which is economical to produce in being produced from lightweight card, is stamped from a single piece of card, and is simple to erect at the point of use.

In the carton above described the central rib is formed in two portions separated in the centre of the carton. However in a further embodiment of the invention (not illustrated) the bottom panel portion 6 is not provided with the fixing tab 20 so that the centre strut portions 13 are one continuous strut 13 extending across the bottom panel portion 6. In this construction the carton is designed as a six-cup carton with no provision to provide a food pocket in the centre of the carton by separating and folding the central cup pockets.

Although various forms of the invention have been described in some detail, it is to 15 be realised that the invention is not limited thereto but can include variations and S°modifications falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (13)

1. A collapsible carton to be erected from a folded flat condition, the carton being formed from a single piece of sheet material, the carton including a top panel having container receiving pockets, side walls, a bottom panel, end walls and a central strengthening strut, the end walls positioned inwardly of the ends of the side walls and engaging the side walls and also engaging the central strut whereby rigidity and stability of the carton is obtained.

2. A collapsible carton as defined in claim 1 wherein the sheet material is thin material, the strength and rigidity of the carton being obtained by the construction of the carton when erected by the position of the end walls and the centre strut.

3. A collapsible carton as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the container 15 receiving pockets are circular, each having groups of container supporting fingers extending inwardly of the pocket, said groups being spaced from each other by cutouts.

4. A collapsible container as defined in any one of the preceding claims lo 20 wherein the base panel is formed in two overlapping portions, one attached to one loll side wall and the second attached to the second side wall, and each end of the carton is formed of two end portions, with one end portion of one end being attached to one base portion and the other end portion of said one end being attached to the other base portion.

A collapsible container as defined in claim 4 wherein said central strengthening strut is attached to the end of the base portion overlapped by said other base portion by a crease line whereby said strut extends to and is adhered to the undersurface of the top panel along a central line extending along the carton.

6. A collapsible container as defined in claim 4 wherein each end portion of each end is formed with an extending tab, the end portions being so positioned inwardly of the side walls that the extending tab of each end portion extends into and is locked into a respective cutout of a respective container receiving pocket.

7. A collapsible container as defined in any one of the preceding claims wherein the top panel has six container receiving pockets arranged in three rows of two.

8. A collapsible container as defined in claim 7 wherein the top panel is perforated across the centre pair of container receiving pockets, fold lines extending between the said centre pair of pockets along opposite sides thereof whereby the top panel can be divided and the portions joining the said pair folded down to lock the top to the central strut to thus form a large pocket to receive items such as food items.

9. A blank for a collapsible container, said blank including a top panel portion, a plurality of container receiving pockets in said top panel portion, a side wall panel attached to opposite sides of the top panel by a fold line, a first bottom panel portion attached by a fold line to one side wall portion, a first end wall portion attached by a fold line to opposite respective ends of the said first bottom panel by respective fold lines, a centre strut panel attached to the first bottom panel 15 portion opposite to the respective side wall panel by a fold line and a fixing strip attached to the edge of the centre strut panel, a second bottom panel portion attached by a fold line to the other side wall portion, a second end wall portion attached by a respective fold line to opposite respective ends of said second bottom panel portion, said first panel portion being adapted to be folded along the 20 fold line joining the side wall portion and the fixing strip adhered to the top panel portion adjacent a centre row of container receiving pockets, and said second panel portion folded about the fold line joining the adjacent wall panel portion to the top panel whereby the second bottom panel portion partially overlies the first bottom panel portion and is adhered thereto.

10. -A food container or tray formed from a blank of sheet material, said container having a top panel including a plurality of food or drink container holding pockets, a bottom panel, a pair of opposite side walls attached by fold lines to said top and bottom panels, a pair of opposite end walls attached to said bottom panel and extending to said top panel and positioned inwardly of said top panel, each said end wall engaging the inside surface of said respective said side walls, a centre strut extending parallel to said side walls, said centre strut being attached to the respective surfaces of the top and bottom panels and extending through and engaging cut-outs in said end walls whereby the centre strut strengthens and supports the top panel and the end walls engaging the side walls, top panel and centre strut strengthens and stabilises the carton.

11. A food container formed from a blank of sheet material as defined in claim wherein the bottom panel is formed by two overlapping bottom panel portions, the inner bottom panel portion having a portion extending towards the top panel and forming the centre strut, the centre strut being in two portions extending from the respective end walls towards the centre of the carton, a-space between the two strut portions formed by a fixing tab adhered to the outer bottom panel, the respective ends of the centre strut adjacent the fixing tab being formed as a locking tab.

12. Food container as defined in claim 11 having a pair of drink container pockets at each end and a central pair of drink containers, an aperture between said pair of centre pockets whereby the centre pockets are divided through said aperture and across the carton and folded down to the bottom panel and locked to the respective locking tab by the respective portion of said aperture on the respective 15 ends of the centre strut to form a large pocket between said end pockets to receive larger items such as food.

13. A collapsible carton substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. eoe. Dated this 7th day of June 2000 D D PACKAGING PTY LTD By their Patent Attorneys, COLLISON CO. eo eete